Princess With Her Head Held High
by Princessintoe
Summary: Ten years after the hundred stepped down on earth, they finally begin to live. And maybe love.
1. Chapter 1

Here's a lovely new story that I hope y'all will enjoy! R&amp;R! Buckets of Love!

* * *

Octavia Blake had step foot on Earth ten years ago. Time had flown by, leaving a mess of destruction, chaos, heartbreak, death, and many other unpleasant things in its wake. But it also brought love, friendship, creation, and life. After the war with Mt. Weather, the forty remaining hundred and some of their family, moved on. Following Bellamy and Clarke they set out, leaving Camp Jaha and the ones who would not recognize them as equals. They searched for close to six months for a place to call home; a place that wasn't already claimed by the grounders or infested with dangerously radioactive plants. And when they found it they knew immediately.

Bellamy was sitting on top of a hill, looking out over the Atlantic Ocean. Clarke had only ever seen pictures of it before, but they did no justice to the beauty laying before her.

"So? Is this it?" She sat down next to him, hugging her knees to her chest.

"I think so, princess." He said looking over the encompassing blue. The water rushed up against the cliffs that brought the hill to an abrupt stop. The land was green and seemed fertile enough to plant crops. From the abundance of animals they had seen getting here, there was enough meat to feed them. This was their home now.

Bellamy turned to look at Clarke, amazed at the way her face brightened looking at the ocean. A smile crept onto her lips, turning the corners of her mouth up just the slightest bit. Her head rested on her knees and her fingers clutched at her wrist. She seemed to be making herself smaller, almost as if she wanted to disappear into the nature that surrounded her.

"Hey, princess…" He whispered. She let out a little sigh and turned her head to look at him. The smile still sat warmly on her lips, contentment resting on her face. Her hair was wrapped up on top of her head in a makeshift crown, thanks to Octavia. Octavia had said that she didn't want to find a long blonde hair sewn into one of her now many injuries. Octavia had opted to join them but only under Indra's consent. Indra had reluctantly let Octavia go, saying that she was beyond ready to defend her "tribe."

"Bellamy!" Speaking of the devil, Octavia came up behind them. The tattoos that covered her arms were still foreign to him. Indra had insisted on them, and once Indra "insisted" they had to be done.

"Bell. Everyone's looking for you. They want to know what to do." She said, not even a little out of breath after climbing up the hill they were now on. Bellamy stood up, looking at Clarke for confirmation. She nodded her head, and turned back to stare at the sea.

"Tell them to unpack. This is home now." Octavia smiled and began her descent down the hill.

"Home?" Clarke whispered. Bellamy barely caught the words as they left her mouth, "Are we really home?" The smile had disappeared and all traces of happiness or content were gone, worry creasing the lines of her face. She was back in leader mode.

"Yep. This is as much home as we're ever going to find. And if you got a problem, princess,…" Bellamy began walking down the hill, arms situated on his waist, taking up his position as co-leader once again.

"Bellamy." He turned around to see Clarke standing on shaking legs, "You did well. Thank-you." Bellamy stood aghast as Clarke walked back towards their group. A princess with her head held high.


	2. Chapter 2

"Clarke!" Bellamy yelled across the camp. A bloody Octavia was limping by his side holding her arm close to her body. Bellamy was frantically searching through the nubile camp looking for their fearless leader and medic.

"God damnit Princess! Where the fuck are you?!" He bellowed across the camp, stopping everyone in their tracks. Clarke poked her head out of one of the tents ready to berate him for halting the building of the camp, but stopped in her tracks when she saw Octavia close to fainting next to her very worried brother.

"What the hell happened, Bell?" Clarke rushed over, instantly switching into doctor mode. Clarke lifted Octavia's uninjured arm over her head and wrapped her own arm around Octavia's waist, holding Octavia's injured arm close to her body.

"Bellamy… I need you to tell me what happened." Bellamy had stopped moving after Clarke had taken his sister from his side and was now looking at the blood on his hands. His sister's blood.

"Bellamy! Tell me what happened, now!" Clarke yelled back to him as she entered the hut labeled with a red cross. The medical building was the first one up when they started the new camp.

Bellamy had pulled himself away from the situation and headed after Clarke, "She came in by the south side forest covered in blood, clutching her arm. She was holding Lincoln's knife in the other. I don't really know what happened. She said she was going out to scout." Bellamy raked a hand through his hair, forgetting about the blood painting his palms.

Clarke had laid Octavia down and was checking her pulse and eyesight, "Bell. Can you do me a favor? I need you to go get me water from the river that runs into the sea. You know the one by the west edge? Now." She handed him a bucket and shooed him out of the tent.

Clarke looked at her friend on the table. She was covered in blood, her forearm was protruding at an odd angle and her ankle was most likely sprained. Pushing the hair out of her face, she began wiping away at the blood. Clarke really didn't need the water she had sent Bellamy to get but she knew he was going to get in her way. He just cared too much.

After ten minutes of swiping away blood, Clarke realized that most of it was not Octavia's. The girl bared no cuts or wounds other than the odd scratch and her color was natural. But still the girl was passed out and unresponsive. Confusion etching her brown, Clarke sat back, watching as the girl's chest moved up and down at a normal speed.

Bending down Clarke whispered in her ear, "O? Can you hear me?" Octavia's face twitched and a sigh escaped her lips. Clarke let out a sigh of relief and backed away. Just then Bellamy walks into the tent, stopping to stare at Octavia who is slowly sitting up at the table.

"O? What happened? God. You scared me to death." Bellamy pulled Octavia into a hug, crushing her to him. Clarke watched at the emotion between the two siblings. Their relationship had not been as solid as it was now. There was a long time when Octavia was Indra's second that Bellamy refused to speak to his sister. That was when his protectiveness had shifted over to Clarke. Lexa had told her love was weakness but to Bellamy, love was strength.

"Clarke?" Bellamy said pulling her away from her admiration, "Did you hear what O said? She said there's another tribe close by. A mix of grounders and sky people. She tried to approach them but was ambushed." Clarke shot a proud glance at Octavia. The girl had taken her leadership in stride. It had taken awhile for Octavia to get the point that diplomacy _was _an option.

"But I got away. I may have accidentally cut off a few body parts, but I got away. I fell down a hill. That's how I broke my arm and sprained my ankle." Clarke nodded, admiring the girl's pain tolerance.

"But that's not the best part!" The young Octavia who loved butterflies and defying her brother shown through, "I found something."


	3. Chapter 3

Octavia began to get off the table, wincing at the pressure she put on her arm. Clarke ushered her back onto the table, "What did you find?"

Bellamy had moved to stand next to Clarke in front of his sister. Bellamy rested his arm on the base of her back. Whether for excitement, comfort, or something else, she didn't know. But it felt natural.

Bellamy gave her a warning glance, "We aren't going anywhere," Bellamy said assertively, "You get to stay here and rest. Princess and I will go scope it out." With that, Bellamy pulled Clarke out of the building.

"Bellamy. We need to go ask her where she saw it…" But she stopped when she saw the mischievous gleam in his eyes, "What?"

"I know what she found." He whispered, looking away from her. Clarke's face burned with anger. They had promised to not keep secrets. They were co-leaders. They needed to be able to trust each other.

"What did she find? And how do you know?" Clarke's lack of emotion in her voice caused Bellamy to flinch.

"We found a base camp. An old bunker by the sea. It has medicine and blankets and packaged food and other stuff." Clarke's eyes widened as the list continued. Her excitement was quickly suppressed when she realized Bellamy hadn't told her about the bunker.

"Why didn't you tell me?" Her voice was hushed, mixed with hurt and confusion.

"Cause we didn't need the stuff and we couldn't risk letting anyone go out to get it. I had almost forgot about it but then O…" He reached for her hand, trying to rationalize his actions.

"No." One word escaped her lips but it stopped him in his tracks. Her eyes were filled with hurt. She didn't understand why he wouldn't tell her about something so important. Shaking her head she backed up into the tent, mumbling something about checking on Octavia.

"Shit." Bellamy swore under his breath. He hated when he made her mad. His gut wrenched inside, guilt clouding his mind. Something in him longed to hold her and wipe away the angry crease on her forehead. He wanted to kiss away the scars that he made and help her heal from the ones others made. He wanted to protect his princess.

He looked around, spying Miller, Jasper and Monty coercing in a corner of the camp, discussing plans for the greenhouse. The four of them had been scouting when they found the bunker. He had made them swear up and down that they would not tell Clarke about it.

"You know that bunker we found?" Bellamy questioned the three men. They had all grown up in the time they had spent here. They all had become friends. No. They became a family. With Clarke and him sitting at the heads of the table, they had created a sustainable community. The boy's look up to him and will do almost anything to keep "mom and dad" happy.

"Yeah?" The boys all nodded.

"The one I told you to forget?" The boys ducked their heads, not making eye contact with him.

"Well…" Bellamy carded a hand through his hair, "We need to go find it again."


	4. Chapter 4

The group headed out at first light the next day, telling only Raven where they were going. Raven knew after many years of constant fights between her two best friends that she needed to keep her mouth shut at least until Bellamy was out far enough for Clarke to think better of not going after him. They always needed one leader or things usually turned to chaos. There was one time where Jasper and Monty's still kind of blew up… But nobody really likes to talk about it.

But now Bellamy was leading his tiny group through the forest, trying to recall where exactly the bunker was. He remembered finding the door somewhere near the sea. They were so excited when they found it the first time, but now Bellamy's heart filled with dread. He knew he should've told Clarke, but what they found in there…

"Bellamy!" Miller yelled. He was pointing to what looked like the door to the bunker. Huffing a breath and tossing his gun over his shoulder, he jogged up to Miller, followed by Jasper and Monty. When the four of them reached the door to the bunker, they stopped.

"You all know what's in there. If you don't want to go in again, you don't have to." The three boys looked wearily at each other, simultaneously taking a step back. Bellamy rolled his eyes and grinned, knowing that they wouldn't want to revisit the hellish bunker.

The frown returning to his face, Bellamy pulled open the door and headed inside. The first time they went into the bunker everyone had been hopeful, but now stepping in for a second time the only feeling was dread.

Bellamy walked through the hallway keeping his gazed focused ahead, ignoring the items at his feet. He needed to get to the main section of the bunker to get the supplies that Clarke wanted. His foot hit one of the items and he fell face first towards the ground. Bracing himself, Bellamy rolled onto his back, avoiding smashing his face into the pavement.

A creepy feeling began to climb up Bellamy's neck. He was laying on the ground, same as the items. The same as the people.

When they first arrived in the bunker they were excited until they saw the massacre that awaited them. Bodies of people who survived the war, laid mutilated along the halls. The nuclear bombs didn't kill them but the impending radiation mutilated their bodies, making them unrecognizable creatures.

From what Bellamy could tell, they had spent years in this bunker until they finally went bat shit crazy, killing each other off. Bellamy did not want Clarke to see any of this. He knew that even though the brave front she had been wearing, she would not have been able to handle _this._

Bellamy quickly got to his feet, almost running to the center of the bunker. Grabbing all he could carry, paying special attention to the medical supplies, he ran from the bunker. Successfully sidestepping the bodies, he emerged from the bunker.

"Good," Miller huffed out, "your back. Now let's get the hell out of here." The group began to head out when suddenly a noise that sounded exactly like Octavia's warning horn blasted through the forest. But that was impossible... Something was wrong.

* * *

Not particularly proud of this chapter. I just felt like... ugg... but I hope you enjoy otherwise. Follow me on tumblr!


	5. Chapter 5

Wow... It's been a long time. More chapters will come soon I promise! This chapter takes place at the same time the previous one does. Buckets of love!

* * *

Clarke Griffin stood at the edge of camp, fuming. This relationship that they have been working on for years, this bridge of trust that was burned a long time ago by a stupid decision she had made when they were at war with the mountain men, was now slowly crumbling. And not by something she had done. How could he have kept such a crucial secret from her when he knew they need the medicine and the food? He was condemning them, just like he did when he stole Raven's radio.

Almost as if Clarke's thoughts summoned her, Raven hobbled up. Mimicking her pose, Raven lowered her voice, "So what are we pondering today?"

Clarke looked her friend up and down, and then burst into giggles. Raven was a good person, and even though they had their differences they always knew they could count on each other. Raven was who she went to after they first got here when she couldn't sleep and needed someone to yell at. Raven was the person she went to when they had lost one of the younger kids and she needed someone to cry with. Raven was the one who could get her drunk and then haul her ass home when she was determined to make a move on Bellamy.

"So… What's got you spewing steam from your ears?" Raven smiled, putting her hands back in her jean pockets.

"Do I even have to tell?" Ravens smile faltered a little, but remained steady on her face.

"Bellamy?" Clarke ran a hand through her hair and began to pace.

"That man is the devil! All he cares about is one person. Do you know what he did this time? HE LIED! When he was out scouting they found a bunker with supplies in it. That was two months ago, Rae! But the worst part was when I asked him about it. He told me that we didn't 'need' the stuff! We could always use some medicine!" Raven burst out into a fit of giggles at the sight of her friend before her. This girl was so in love it was stupid.

Raven put her hands on Clarke's shoulders, "Calm down. Now don't get mad at me but Bellamy and the three idiots went to go look for the bunker." Clarkes face contorted into many different emotions, finally landing on confusion.

"What do you mean?" She said brushing Ravens hands off of her shoulders.

"I mean that in less than thirty minutes Mr. Self-Centered will be back with a shit load of medicine and rations." Raven took a step back and watched her friend transition into leader mode. Clarke would conceal all emotion in times when she needed to make a hard decision.

She needed to decide whether or not to yell at Raven… or hug her. Clarkes face broke into a grin, splitting her face nearly in half. She reached out to hug the no-nonsense mechanic when a noise that sounded very much like Octavia's old fog horn sounded from the forest.

"Raven…?" Raven looked just as startled as Clarke.

Stepping back into leader mode, Clarke began yelling orders, "Raven! Get everyone inside. Now."

"Where are you going?" Raven questioned at the retreating form of their leader.

"To find Bellamy!"


	6. Chapter 6

HEY! Sorry this chapter is so short... But Ta-Da! R&amp;R's make the heart grow fonder! Buckets of Love!

* * *

Bellamy had quickly ushered the boys inside the bunker, the one place they absolutely did not want to be. Monty was clutching to Miller, Jasper was trying very hard not to vomit and Bellamy was being Bellamy, brooding in the corner.

"Why do we even have to be in here?" questioned Jasper, "We took down the mountain men's fog, Octavia gave her horn away, we don't need to hide."

"It's better to be safe," snapped Bellamy, "than sorry. You of all people…" He had to stop himself from saying something he would soon forget. Jaspers face registered the meaning behind his words and he quickly turned around, pouting like a child. Yes, some of them had grown up while they were down on earth, but it doesn't mean that they still didn't have some of their lost childlike qualities in them.

Miller unhooked himself from Monty's death grip, "I agree with Jas on this one, man." Bellamy rolled his eyes and crossed his arms over his chess, pointing his chin at Monty.

"What about you?" He asked.

"I think we're safe. But you're our leader. We'll follow you." Monty was always the voice of reason. He was truly becoming a much respected person in their camp. He was the one to go to for advice or a glass of moonshine.

"Fine," Bellamy walked the few feet to the door of the bunker, grabbing the med kits, "Let's go."

* * *

Clarke had run out of camp with nothing but her sword and was very quickly regretting it. The grounders that now circled her made her wish she had one of Bellamy's guns right now.

"What do you want? We claimed this territory six months ago." She shouted, baring her sword.

A couple of the grounders chuckled at her show of power. But were quickly silenced by a gun fired into the sky.

"Clarke?" A face from her nightmares walked out from behind one of the larger grounders.

"Murphy?"


	7. Chapter 7

Hello! Love all the follows and reviews! Buckets of Love!

* * *

Bellamy rounded the corner, fearing the worst from the gunfire they had just heard. Maybe Octavia had tried to go find him and was being attacked by hostile grounders. No. She could handle herself. It had to be Clarke.

"Dude!" Miller shouted from a ways back, "Monty's dying, and Jas is almost there. We have to stop."

"No," he said, trying to sound calm, "We have to see where that gunfire came from." He turned to look at Miller knowing very well what he would soon hear.

"Clarke is fine, man." His chest was heaving and he was rubbing a hand along Monty's back as the boy tried to catch his breath. Jasper jogged up slowly behind the two and fell onto his butt, completely exhausted.

"Bellamy," Jasper huffed, "We've been running for nearly half an hour. We have to stop." Bellamy eyed the three other boys. They were exhausted.

He needed to find Clarke. Make sure she was safe. She didn't know… She didn't know what he felt. How could she? Every time he got the courage a crisis would arise where "mom" and "dad" were needed. There was never any time for them. He needed to make time.

Turning to Miller, he tossed the med kits as he spoke, "Fine. You three stay here, I'm gonna go find where those gunshots came from."

Before the three other boys could inch in an argument, Bellamy was taking off in the direction of the gunshot.

* * *

"Princess," Murphy spit out, "How nice to see you." He pushed the big grounder out of the way and began to stalk circles around her.

"When I saw Octavia I just assumed that she had went to live with the grounders. But this… this is quite the surprise. Taking leave of mommy? Such a big step."

"Oh? And you hiding behind your grounders? Scared to actually fight anyone?" Clarke spit at him.

Feigning hurt, Murphy stopped in his tracks, "Wow, Princess. That hurt. Like a knife," Murphy reached down to his boot, unsheathing a dagger, "in the heart." He inched his way closer to her, twirling the knife through his fingers.

"What are you gonna do Murphy? Slit my throat, hang me like you did Bell, or just let your grounders take care of me?" Keeping her sword up, Clarke took a slight step back, weary of the circle of grounders caging her in.

"All seem like fabulous ideas, but I have one that I think you'd enjoy." Murphy jerked his head up and a club came down, smashing on top of her head, blackness filling her vision.


End file.
